EAL 431/2

HIGHWAY DESIGN

Prof. Meor Othman Hamzah

LECTURERS

Meor Othman Hamzah

Mohd Rosli Mohd Hasan
Leong Lee Vien
Nur Sabahiah Abdul Sukor

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 COURSE OBJECTIVE

To understand highway geometric

design method that covers alignment,
cross section, at-grade and grade-
separated intersections taking into
consideration road safety aspects

COURSE OUTCOME

No. Course Outcome PO (SCE) LT (SCE) Assessment

Able to apply the

C1 Examination
appropriate design
CO1 PO1 C2 Test
concepts and principles in
C3 Assignment
highway geometric design

Able to design elements

in highway geometry that C1
Examination
covers horizontal, vertical C2
CO2 PO3 Test
alignments, cross section C3
Assignment
and junctions according to C4
local standards

C1
Able to produce highway C2
Examination
geometric design in the C3
CO3 PO3 Test
form of report and C4
Assignment
drawings C5
C6

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 COURSE SYNOPSIS

Introduction: Driver characteristics, design vehicle, road

hierarchy, access control, topography, design speed, sight
distance; Horizontal Alignment: the straight, simple circular
curve, transition curve, superelevation, curve widening;
Vertical Alignment: the straight, summit and valley curves;
Cross Section: camber, right of way, traffic lanes, road
shoulder, marginal strip, central reservation; At-grade
intersection: types, distance between junction, sight
distance, left turning lane, speed change lane, traffic island;
Grade-Separated Intersection: justification for provision,
types and distance between interchange; Geometric Design
and Road Safety: five stages and elements in road safety
audit.

COURSE TOPIC

Introduction to Geometric Design: Driver characteristics, vehicle

characteristics and design vehicle, traffic characteristics for
geometric design, Design standards, reasons for standardisation,
design philosophy, road hierarchy, access control, topography,
design speed, sight distance

Horizontal and Vertical Alignment: The straight, simple circular

curve, compound curve, broken back curve, reverse curve,
transition curve, superelevation runoff and tangen runout,
methods of superelevation, curve widening. The straight,
parabolic curve theorem and properties, design of summit and
valley curves.

Cross Section: Camber, right-of-way, traffic lane, road shoulder,

marginal strip, central divider

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 COURSE TOPIC

At-Grade Intersection: Types, distance between junctions,

sight distance, left turning lane, speed change lanes, traffic
island, channelization

Grade-Separated Intersection: Justification for provision,

types, distance between interchange

Highway Geometry and Road Safety: Five stages and

elements in road safety audit

TEACHING PLAN
Lecturer /
Sessi
Week Date Contact Topics Assessment CO PO LT
on
Hour
Introduction to highway
1 1 11-09-2018 MOH (2)
geometric
Introduction to highway
2 1 18-09-2018 MOH (2)
geometric
3 1 25-09-2018 MOH (2) Vertical alignment
4 1 02-10-2018 MOH (2) Vertical alignment
C1
CO1
PO1 C2
5 1 09-10-2018 MRMH (2) Horizontal alignment Assignment 1 CO2
PO3 C3
CO3
C4
6 1 16-10-2018 MRMH (2) Horizontal alignment
C2
CO1 PO1
7 1 23-10-2018 MRMH (2) Horizontal alignment Test 1 C3
CO2 PO3
C4
8 1 30-10-2018 MOH (2) Cross section
9 Semester Break
10 1 13-11-2018 LLV (2) At-grade intersection
11 1 20-11-2018 LLV (2) At-grade intersection
12 1 27-11-2018 MOH (2) Grade separated interchange
C2
CO1 PO1
13 1 04-12-2018 NSAS (2) Road safety audit Assignment 2 C3
CO2 PO3
C4
14 1 11-12-2018 MRMH (2) Road safety audit
CO1 C2
PO1
15 1 18-12-2018 MRMH (2) Road safety audit Test 2 CO2 C3
PO3
CO3 C4
16 Revision week

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 EVALUATION METHOD

Test: 10%
Assignment: 30%

REFERENCES

1. Meor Othman Hamzah, (1989) 'Reka Bentuk Geometri Jalan dan Lebuh Raya',
Edisi Awal, Cetakan ke-3, ISBN 983-861-000-3, Penerbit USM, Pulau Pinang.
Also similar publication by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Reka Bentuk Jalan
Raya untuk Jurutera)
2. REAM, ‘A Guide On Geometric Design Of Roads’, Road Engineering
Association of Malaysia REAM-GL2/2002, Shah Alam, Selangor
3. Lembaga Lebuh Raya Malaysia, (2011), Guidelines for Malaysia Toll
Expressway System – Design Standards, Edisi 1, LLM/GP/T5-08, ISBN 978-
983-99565-5-9, Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad, Kuala Lumpur
4. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, (2011)
'A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets', Edisi ke-6
Washington DC.
5. Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia, (1987) ‘Arahan Teknik (Jalan) 13/87 A Guide to
the Design of At-Grade Intersections', Kuala Lumpur.
6. Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia, (1987) ‘Arahan Teknik (Jalan) 12/87 A Guide to
the Design of Interchanges', Kuala Lumpur.
7. Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia, (1997) ‘Road Safety Audit - Guidelines for the
Safety Audit of Roads and Road Project in Malaysia’, ISBN 983-99552-1-7,
Kuala Lumpur.

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 TOPIC OUTCOME

Able to explain the scope of highway geometric design

Able to answer the reasons why standardisation is
essential
Can explain driver characteristics, vehicle
characteristics and traffic characteristics that influence
geometric design
Able to sketch the hierarchy of a road network
Able to define design speed and principles used to
determine its value
Able to justify the importance of providing sufficient
stopping sight distance and overtaking sight distance

INTRODUCTORY GEOMETRIC DESIGN

Geometric design refers to the interaction between the

physical aspects of a highway, ie that part of the highway
that can be seen. Highways are designed to conform to the
requirements of the vehicle, traffic and driver

The scope of highway geometric design covers:

horizontal alignment
vertical alignment
cross section
junctions (at-grade and grade separated)
aesthetics and safety issues

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 DESIGN STANDARDS

Arahan Teknik (Jalan) 8/86 published by (JKR). The summarised design

standards is shown in Table 4.1. Has been superseeded by A GUIDE ON
GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS published by Road Engineering
Association of Malaysia (REAM)

Inter-urban Toll Expressway System of Malaysia (ITESM) standards that

was used to design the North-South Expressway by Lembaga Lebuh Raya
Malaysia (LLM). Design standards summarised in Table 4.2. This has
been superseded by a new LLM design standards

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

(AASHTO) standards

The numerical values given in Tables A and B are either the maximum or
minimum values that are acceptable in design.

Designer should aspire to use higher or lower values within the economic
limits.

JKR ARAHAN TEKNIK (JALAN)

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JKR ARAHAN TEKNIK (JALAN)

LLM STANDARDS

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 WHY STANDARDISATION?

To attain uniformity in highway design consistent with its

expected performance

To ensure a consistent, safe and smooth traffic flow

To assist the engineer to make detailed design decisions

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Function

Economy

Safety

Comfort

Aesthetics

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 FACTORS CONSIDERED
Vehicle Characteristics
Dimension, skid resistance, acceleration, deceleration, axle weight

DESIGN VEHICLE: …has larger physical dimensions and larger minimum

turning radius than those of almost all vehicles in its class. The largest of all the
several design vehicles are usually accommodated in the design of freeways.

DESIGN VEHICLE

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 Source: AASHTO

FACTORS CONSIDERED

Driver characteristics; physical dimension, expectancy/resilience

(ketangkasan), rate of change of centripetal force that triggers
discomfort, environment, psychology, sight and hearing

Traffic characteristics:
Volume, speed and directional distribution

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 Source:
AASHTO

Source:
AASHTO

TRAFFIC ENGINEERING FOR GEOMETRIC DESIGN

Average Daily Traffic (ADT)
Justify new construction or upgrading of a facility
ADT does not reflect traffic fluctuation

Design Hourly Volume (DHV)

Traffic volume that is averaged over one hour and used for
design
Determined from the underneath figure:

Equivalent to the 30th

hourly volume

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Design Hourly Volume Ratio (K)
The design hourly volume divided by the average daily
traffic
K = 15% for rural roads
K = 12% for urban roads
K = 14% (LLM)

Directional Distribution
Rural area = 65%
Urban = 60%

Traffic Composition (T)

Percentage of each vehicle type according to the
underneath classification:
Motorcycle
Car and taxi
Light van
2-axle lorry
More than 3-axle lorry
Bus

Traffic Forecast
Geometric design: 20 years after road construction
completed
Pavement Design: 10 years

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Traffic Forecast

Based on traffic growth history, traffic volume during design year

can be predicted assuming similar/adjusted traffic growth

EXAMPLE

ADT of 63,900 vehicles will use a proposed road during

design year 2015. From local studies, K=15%, D=65% and
proportion of commercial vehicle = 6% of ADT.

DHV year 2015 = 63,900 x 0.15 x 0.65 = 6230 per direction

Out of this, 6% are commercial vehicles

Therefore, traffic composition is as follows:

Commercial vehicle = 375 and the remaining = 5855

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 ROAD HIERARCHY

Based on mobility and accessibility

6 hierarchy depending on area type traversed:

Rural (R6, R5, R4, R3, R2, R1)

Urban (U6, U5, U4, U3, U2, U1)

ROAD CATEGORY

Refer to Table 2-2

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 ROAD CATEGORY
Characteristics of each category is shown in Table 2.1

ROAD CATEGORY
Relationship with traffic volume is shown in Table 2.3

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 CHOICE OF DESIGN VALUE

Choice of design value is made

from the underneath procedure:

Identify road type whether

expressway or main road, etc

Identify area type traversed

whether urban or rural

Determine the forecast ADT at

the end of the design life.
Number of lanes computed from
highway capaciy analysis

Determine road hierarchy

Source: AASHTO

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 Example of road
hierarchy in a
network

ACCESS CONTROL

Accessibility of vehicles and road users into a highway must be

controlled according to the underneath category:

Full Access Control: priority given to vehicles traveling on road, smooth

traffic flow ensured by accessibility to highway be made via grade
separated interchange

Partial access control: vehicle movement on the highway is still given

priority. Accessibility into the highway only allowed via at-grade junction
at specified/approved location

No access control: accessibility not regulated or controlled

Degree of access control is imposed to ensure high capacity, junction

performance and user safety

Accessibility should be considered during the design process and post

construction

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 ACCESS CONTROL

Refer to Table 2-2 and

the following figure:

TOPOGRAHY AND AREA TYPE

Topography classification determined from average slope along

the route as follows:

Flat (cross contour slope < 3%)

Rolling (slope 3 - 25%)
Mountainous (slope > 25%)

Area type chosen based on population as follows:

Urban (population > 10000)

Rural (population < 10000)

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 DESIGN SPEED

Maximum speed that a driver can move safely under the

constraints of the road geometric elements only. Low traffic
volume, good driver and weather conditions. What dictates
speed is only the road geometry.

Can be equivalent to 85% percentile speed

Throughout the highway, design speed changes according

to topography and the importance of the road. Changes in
design speed should be made gradually and the minimum
transition distance is 1 km. Or at distinct physical changes
such as town

Design values given in the Tables 4.1 and 4.2

Choose as high a value to cope with vehicle speed

technology (1926 only 56 km/hr) and to increase safety
dimension

SIGHT DISTANCE

The road distance ahead that is visible to the driver

Required for:
to perform safe emergency stop
overtake safely
take appropriate action at interchanges and complex
situations

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Illustrations on sight distance
requirements in alignment and
junction design

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 STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE
Distance along the road that a driver (eye height 0.92/1.07 m)
can see an obstruction object/hazard (height 0.15 m) that is
moving or remains stationary

Equivalent to the distance traversed during the following time

period:
perception
reaction
braking

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 STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE

PERCEPTION-REACTION TIME

If d1 (meter) is the distance traversed during perception-reaction

time t (sec) by a vehicle that travels as the design speed V
(km/h), then:

d1 = 0.28tV

STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE

BRAKING DISTANCE

Braking distance d2, is the distance traversed after putting on

(slam) the brake. Vehicle speed reduces to zero (complete halt).
The formula to calculate d2 can be derived by referring to the
underneath figure:

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 STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE

BRAKING DISTANCE

Assume
d2 = Braking distance (m)
W = Vehicle mass (kg)
g = Acceleraton due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2
V = Design or initial speed (km/j)
f = Coefficient of friction t the tyre-pavement interface

Based on the law of the conservation of energy, that is:

Kinetic Energy = Work Done

Therefore:
d2 = V2/254f

STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE

Stopping Sight Distance = d1 + d2

= 0.28tV + V2/254f

Design Value
Perception time = 1.5 s
Reaction time= 1.0 s

d1 = 0.28 x 2.5V = 0.7V

At 120 km/j, f = 0.282

Therefore
db = 0.28 x 2.5 x120 + (120)2/[254(0.282)]
= 285 m

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 STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE

Two drivers, A and B, each has a perception-reaction time equals

2.5 s. One obeys the 90 km/h speed limit, while the other driver
travels illegally at 120 km/h. Calculate the distance covered by
both drivers while perceiving/reacting to the need to stop.
Calculate the increased distance traversed during perception-
reaction time as a consequence of illegally travelling an extra 30
km/h. Calculate the braking distances of both drivers. How much
longer is the total stopping sight distance as a consequence of
over-speeding

F is dependent on speed, hence use appropriate f values given in

Table 4.5.

da = 0.28 x 2.5 x 90 = ? db = 0.28 x 2.5 120 =

Hence, dB – dA = ?

SSDa= ? SSDb = ?

BRAKING DISTANCE ON SLOPE

Effect of Grade/Slope on Braking Distance, d2

Moving down a slope:

d2 = V2/254(f – G)
V = Design speed (km/j)
F = Coefficient of friction
G = Gradient (decimal)

Moving up a slope:

d2 = V2/254(f + G)
V = Design speed (km/j)
F = Coefficient of friction
G = Gradient (decimal)

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 STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE OF A HEAVY VEHICLE

Heavy vehicle stopping sight distance is ignored due to the

following reasons:

Driver eye height of a heavy vehicle is much higher compared to

the eye height of a passenger car driver

Most commercial vehicle drivers are experienced and hence

more resilient/responsive

Generally, heavy vehicles travel much slower compared to

passenger car (required by law)

OVERTAKING SIGHT DISTANCE

Shortest distance required by a vehicle to move out of its original

lane, overtake a slower vehicle and return to its original lane
safely
Does not disrupt movement of opposing vehicle or overtaken
vehicle
Obstruction object is a vehicle (height 1.32 m)

Assumption:
Overtaken vehicle travel at a constant speed
Driver requires assurance/confidence that overtaking can be
done safely
Overtaking activity is done as quickly as possible (delayed start,
hurried return)
Sufficient clear distance between overtaking vehicle and
opposing vehicle

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 OVERTAKING SIGHT DISTANCE

Four (distance) components

OVERTAKING SIGHT DISTANCE

Hesitation Distance (d1)

The distance when a driver hesitates if it is safe or not for him to
overtake. There are 2 components, namely:

Perception reaction distance

Distance to move close to a vehicle and approaching the edge of
overtaking lane

Calculated from the following equation:

d1 = t1(V – m + at1/2)

t1 = Hesitation distance (s)

V = Average vehicle speed (km/j)
m = Speed difference between vehicle A dan B (km/j)
a = Average acceleration (km/j/s)

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 OVERTAKING SIGHT DISTANCE

Actual Overtaking Distance (d2)

The actual distance when the vehicle performs the overtaking
activity and return to its original lane. It is assumed that the
overtaking vehicle travels 16 km/h faster than the overtaken
vehicle

Therefore
d2 = Vt2
where
V = Average speed of vehicle A (km/j)
t2 = The time when A is on the right lane (s)

OVERTAKING SIGHT DISTANCE

Safety Dimension (d3)

The distance between the overtaking vehicle returns to its original
lane after completing overtaking with the opposing vehicle.
Ideally, it should be as long as possible but assumed equivalent
to distance traversed in 1.5 sec.

Distance Traversed by Vehicle C During Overtaking Operation

(d4)
Opposing vehicle C assumed to travel at design speed. d4 is
assumed equivalent to two-third the actual overtaking distance,
ie: 2/3(d2)??

Therefore:
Overtaking sight distance dp = d1 + d2 + d3 + d4

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 OVERTAKING SIGHT DISTANCE

Design Value
Design value according to JKR and LLM standards are
respectively shown in Tables 4.1 and 4.2.

Design value for overtaking sight distance also included in the

LLM standards to considered staged construction.

Overtaking sight distance of heavy vehicles not considered. If

sufficient overtaking sight distance cannot be accommodated,
pup up mandatory road sign TIDAK BOLEH MEMOTONG.

Minimum overtaking sight distance should be provided as

frequent as possible to increase road capacity.

OVERTAKING SIGHT DISTANCE

OSD must be distributed uniformly over the entire road length

To maintain and not to jeopardise road capacity

% road sections with > OSD shown in table:

Terrain % Section > dp

Flat 60%
Rolling 40%
Mountainous 20%

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 Scaling and recording sight distances

DECISION SIGHT DISTANCE

SSD usually sufficient to allow normal drivers to come to a

hurried stop under ordinary circumstances.
SSD inadequate when drivers have to make complex or
instantaneous decisions when information is difficult to perceive
or when unexpected or unusual maneuvers are required.
Hence, decision sight distance is the distance required to:

 identify complex situations

 make a decision
 take action that a driver thinks is correct

DSD is considered at complex interchanges/junctions when

unexpected maneuvers are required, changes in cross section
such as toll plazas, areas apt to ‘visual noise’ when sources of
information compete such as those from roadway elements,
traffic control devices, traffic, advertising signs

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 DECISION SIGHT DISTANCE

Design Values

Design values given in AASHTO guide is shown in table (usually

higher than SSD:

Design Speed Decision Sight Distance

(mph) (feet)
70 1100 - 1450
60 1000 - 1275
50 750 - 1025
40 600 - 825
30 450 - 625

THANK
YOU

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